Steelers Bench Mitchell Trubisky After Big Mistakes Blow Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their third straight game, including their second straight in front of a national audience. Everyone is still searching for answers, but Mike Tomlin finally decided that it was time for some change. While that change was "too little too late" for the game, it could be a strong indication of what the Steelers look to do for the foreseeable future. Steeler Nation gets one of their wishes granted. 

Right before the two-minute warning, the Steelers officially benched Mitch Trubisky in favor of Mason Rudolph. Prior to the benching, Trubisky had a very rough second half, including a terrible interception where he overthrew George Pickens, leading to an easy pick by Julian Blackmon. Tomlin finally had enough after that play and gave Rudolph a chance before the end of the game.

The Steelers went four-and-out under Rudolph, including a terrible screen and a huge sack. Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner even mentioned on the broadcast that putting Rudolph in in that situation might not be the best way to see if he has what it takes to steal Trubisky's current starting role. Either way, Tomlin has a big decision to make before a very crucial Week 16 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

As expected, Tomlin was asked about that decision in his postgame press conference. He had been flustered all throughout the presser, and it continued to show during the presser. 

"We didn't do enough of anything well today."

He took shots at the whole team, including himself. Clearly, with how bad the game was going, he wanted to just see what Rudolph had, and maybe send a message to Trubisky. The team seemed to be humming early in the first half, especially with the blocked punt that set up the Steelers to take a 13-0 lead. After that, nothing went right, and Trubisky had a lot of trouble with the offense being put in bad situations. Tomlin was also asked about who would start next week. He admitted that he had no idea who would go next week. 

"Again, I don't have answers as I sit here right now. I know that we better do some things differently. We better approach some things differently. We're not going to roll that ball out there again."

While Trubisky had a rough few weeks, the Steelers have been known to not be make quick decisions when it comes to making changes. Even with Rudolph coming in, that doesn't mean anything for the future. There will likely be some sort of quick quarterback competition all throughout practice. Both Trubisky and Rudolph will get their chances to win the starting role. 

Steelers Might Have Tougher Decision Than Anticipated

While Trubisky and Rudolph will both look to start, it might not matter. Kenny Pickett is looking to come back from his injury earlier than expected. If his surgery works the way that he hoped, he should be able to come back for Saturday's matchup against the Bengals. While nothing is confirmed, this could change the outcome of the quarterback controversy. 

Even if Pickett thinks he's ready to go, would the team actually want him on the field? On one hand, the Steelers seemingly need their quarterback back sooner than later. Pickett has dealt with the ankle injury for a large chunk of the season, and he has shown the toughness to power through it before. On the other hand, if he's not completely healthy, they might have to give him one more week off and let the winner of the quarterback competition take the field one more time. 

What do you think about the decision to bench Trubisky in favor of Rudolph. Who should be the quarterback next week against Cincinnati? Let us know in the comments.

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